Building Competencies

Several times a year, I revisit the goals that guide my professional life in librarianship. One goal pertains to the ongoing development of a suite of professional competencies. Through their work, librarians develop a wide range of competencies, such as:

technologies

software

mobile applications

interpersonal communication

cultural competencies

leadership skills

collection development strategies

instructional competencies

In the context of instruction, librarians have many opportunities to develop instructional design competencies, yet are at risk of being overwhelmed by those same opportunities. We review literature, discuss options with the institutional instructional technologist, review the college learning management system with the resident expert, consult with other faculty, and reach out to our communities of practice. I am the sole librarian at this college isolated from other forward-facing librarians and depend upon experts in the field of current trends.

Photo Credit: CCO Public Domain

The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction develops, validates, and publishes instructional design (ID) standards for instructors, training managers, evaluators, and instructional designers. This non-profit group identifies 105 performance indicators within 22 sets of competencies. However, the group acknowledges that full-time instructors may not achieve a high level proficiency in each competency.

Librarians need not master all instructional design competencies, but they do use aspects of the instructional design process to improve not only in-class and online instruction, but any instruction that takes place at a reference desk or circulation service point. Troy Swanson, winner of the 2016 ACRL Instruction Section Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award and author of Social Media in Libraries, is one of several librarian-authors who refer to the ADDIE model for instructional design.

I base my instructional practice and build instructional competencies by interchanging the ADDIE model with the BLAAM model. Steven J. Bell and John D. Shank, authors of “Academic Librarianship by Design: A Blended Librarian’s Guide to the Tools“, introduced the Blended Librarians Adapted ADDIE Model (BLAAM) in 2007. I believe that this model is essential for forward-looking librarians whose practice has made them partners with subject instructors, integrating library and information literacy instruction into courses and curriculum.

Bell and Shank’s model sets the ADDIE within the context of librarian-led instruction:

The instructors with whom I collaborate to develop an information literacy session provide important feedback to my instructional practice. Instructional sessions are designed around learning activities such as demonstrations, online polling, hands-on exercises, small group discussions (buzz-groups), teach-backs, and quizzes. Sessions plans are based on constructivist learning theory, instructional best practices, and prior knowledge of student learning needs, framed by the BLAAM model.

Assessing and measuring learning is at the heart of modern instructional design theory, but librarians often get only a single opportunity to instruct and assess learning. The most common library and information literacy instruction sessions, which are designed and delivered by librarians, are delivered in single sessions to classes or groups. Without an entire term to use informal and formal assessment tools to measure students’ learning, librarians are faced with an acute challenge.

Improvement to program and instructional sessions, and to pedagogical development generally, can be achieved through analysis of the learning assessments, which constitute evidence of the ability of the teacher. Assessments may take the form of surveys, quizzes, worksheets, observations, and presentations. This kind of analysis is a critical aspect of making instructional changes over time, and of increasing pedagogical skills and competencies. Assessment results provide the librarian with evidence upon which decisions and actions to improve and enhance the learning experience are made. Actions include refining learning outcomes and making improvements to instructional activities.

Following select Information Literacy Skills Development sessions I designed and delivered from September – December 2014, 321 participants responded to the following statements:

The librarian provided a valuable learning experience for me.

The librarian was effective in communicating the subject matter.

The librarian demonstrated enthusiasm for teaching the class.

The librarian was well prepared for the class.

Please describe an activity that moved you forward in your learning.

Please describe what the librarian could have done differently to help you learn.

The librarian provided an atmosphere supportive of learning.

The librarian demonstrated the relevance of workshop content to course assignment.

In a separate survey, 6 subject faculty responded to similar statements:

The librarian provided a valuable learning experience for my students.

The librarian was effective in communicating the subject matter.

The librarian demonstrated enthusiasm for teaching the class.

The librarian was well prepared for the class.

Please describe an activity that moved your students forward in their learning.

Please describe what the librarian could have done differently to help your students learn.

The librarian provided an atmosphere supportive of learning.

The librarian demonstrated the relevance of workshop content to course assignment.

Student feedback on instructional sessions continues to inform my professional development and instructional practices. Three hundred and twenty-one (321) students over 17 classes responded to an assessment tool with the following result: